Our Homeownership Saga

We knew when we bought the house that getting a washer and dryer down the basement stairs would be a challenge. Read about our tribulations after the break.

At some point a previous owner extended the kitchen by the fridge into the stairwell by about a foot. So the stairs themselves are the same size all the way but you have to dodge this extended area. It’s…different. Check the pictures to better understand what I’m talking about, it’s hard to explain.

So rather then pay for delivery, we loaded them onto our tiny trailer and slowly drove home. The weather worked against us on the washer though and it began to rain. Really that just meant the cardboard box was a bit soggy, not a big deal.

Next, we had to get it in the back door. Measurements showed that it would be a very tight fit but would make it. As it turned out, that was spot on.

From t here it was practically in the basement doorway already. So there wasn’t far to go. This, of course, didn’t mean that it was going to be easy going though. Here’s another view of exactly how close of a fit this had been so far. You can see how the washer took up the entire entry area.

To get it down the stairs Marc went in front and I held the back. He sort of eased it down while I steered the back. It was fine until we got the extended part of the kitchen. We had thought the box I might squeak under it, but alas, it hit it square on. So I went for the hammer and we just knocked that part of the corner out. It was easy enough since it was just some drywall. After that, it sailed underneath perfectly.

That last one shows the washer perched on the landing of the basement stairs, almost to its home. We left it there for a few minutes to rest. It was just a wee bit heavy and difficult getting it that far.

Here it is in its new home, waiting for the dryer to come join it. I won’t post the process of the dryer getting down there because it was basically a repeat of the washer, minus knocking out walls.

Now you can take a moment to be glad that you don’t have our basement stairs. Or perhaps to remind yourself of why you have your appliances delivered.